Roof inspections in North Palm Beach, FL

When your roof is 15 years or older, your insurer has to allow an authorized inspector to examine it, paid for by you. If that inspection shows 5 or more years of useful life, the insurer may not refuse or non-renew you solely for the roof's age. The roof inspection is the paperwork that makes that rule usable. Your insurer or agent is the person to ask about what your own policy covers.

On the 4-point form, the roof section lists the covering material, the roof's age, its remaining useful life, the date of the last roofing permit, and whether the roof was replaced in full or in part. Citizens asks for a 4-point inspection on properties more than 20 years old, and the median home here is from 1972, so many owners here may meet that line. Citizens also wants documented remaining life on soft roofs older than 25 years and hard roofs older than 50.

An inspector for these forms is not just anyone. The authorized list includes a licensed home inspector, a certified building code inspector, a licensed roofing or general contractor, an engineer or an architect, and your insurer must approve them.

The inspector looks for cracking, curling, heavy granule loss, exposed asphalt or felt, missing or loose tabs and tiles, soft decking, and leaks in the attic or on ceilings. The report comes with a photo of every roof slope. For a wind mitigation form, the attic items you cannot see, such as deck nailing and roof-to-wall connectors, are also checked.

• Buying a home: get the roof's age and remaining life before closing.
• If you are selling, a current report gets ahead of the questions a buyer's insurer will ask.
• Insurer letter about roof age: order the inspection the 15-year rule allows.
• After a storm: Palm Beach County felt Matthew's tropical-storm-force winds in 2016 and Irma's surge in 2017, so check for lifted or missing pieces.

For permit questions on any repair that follows, confirm the current process with the Village of North Palm Beach Licenses & Permits office.